Coordination Chemistry in Australia has had a rich history since the pioneering work of George Joseph Burrows, some 100 years ago. Subsequent studies by Professors Frank Dwyer and Ron Nyholm laid the Australian foundations for the field which has continued to this day. University of Melbourne coordination chemists Paul Donnelly and Colette Boskovic were recently invited to contribute articles to a special issue of Coordination Chemistry Reviews celebrating Coordination Chemistry in Australia. Edited by Peter Junk, this special issue follows on from a similarly-themed issue from 1997 that included contributions from luminaries of Australian coordination chemistry including Brian Figgis, Hans Freeman, Ray Martin, Alan Sargeson, Bruce West and Martin Bennett. For the present edition, Tim Connell and Paul Donnelly have contributed "Labelling proteins and peptides with phosphorescent d6 transition metal complexes", while Olga Drath and Colette Boskovic's contribution is "Switchable cobalt coordination polymers: spin crossover and valence tautomerism".